OTHER VOICES

This Iran deal is done, so focus on the bigger one to come

An interpreter, left, speaks during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, center, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague, at Winfield House, the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Britain, in London, Nov. 24, 2013. Kerry arrived in London on Sunday to meet British and Libyan officials after taking part in breakthrough talks curbing Iran's nuclear activity.

Posted Nov. 26, 2013, at 2:35 p.m.

Of all the details about the historic deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program, the most salient one may be its scope: It is intended to last for only six months. The focus should now turn to forging a permanent agreement to prevent Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons.

Increased sanctions pressure (from the United States and its allies) and rapid progress in developing a nuclear program (in Iran) brought Iran and much of the rest of the world to a fork in the road: One path, increased sanctions, would lead to eventual airstrikes, a cycle of retaliation and a delay in Iran’s nuclear progress. The second path, a diplomatic agreement, would result in limiting and monitoring Iran’s program. The latter was easily the better choice, and it appears to have been made possible by some secret backroom diplomacy for which the Obama administration deserves credit.

Israeli leaders were nevertheless furious at the terms of the deal, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing it as a “historic mistake.” Israel has unique cause for concern regarding the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran. It is worth remembering, however, that the deal is just an interim step, aimed at creating the time and space necessary to strike a permanent settlement.

Iran agreed to take the essential steps required to freeze its progress, which include halting enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, just a short leap from weapons grade, and converting its stockpile of the fuel to less dangerous forms. Iran also agreed to accept more intrusive inspections — in some cases daily — by the International Atomic Energy Agency. In exchange, the P5+1 — China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and the U.S. — have relaxed about $7 billion worth of the $100 billion worth of sanctions in place.

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Netanyahu is correct that the agreement makes it clear that any final agreement will leave Iran with an enrichment capacity, albeit limited and monitored. This is a departure from United Nations Security Council resolutions in place since 2006 and the zero-enrichment demands the U.S. and its European allies have been making for the last 10 years. That strategy, however, failed. Tacit acceptance that Iran will be allowed to go on enriching uranium up to 5 percent merely recognizes this failure.

The real test of Iran’s intentions comes now, not just in whether it implements the terms of the interim deal but also in how aggressively it pursues a final agreement. That’s what supporters and critics of this first-step agreement should be watching.